The Wizard of Oz (1939)
1.33:1 (Full Frame)
Dolby Digital 5.1, Monaural
Warner Home Video, $49.98

When MGM decided to mount a film version of L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in response to the incredible commercial success of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the studio waded into one of the most difficult and complicated productions in its history. The Wizard of Oz, also known as “Production #1060,” called for lush Technicolor cinematography and costly special effects that would test MGM’s creative and financial boundaries. Arthur Freed was appointed as assistant producer to Mervyn LeRoy on the picture, and both agreed that The Wizard of Oz would be a new kind of film musical: it would use original songs to further the plot. Furthermore, it would be a star vehicle for contract player Judy Garland, whom Freed and LeRoy believed to be one of MGM’s biggest talents.

LeRoy insisted that Harold “Hal” Rosson, ASC, who had recently been honored by the Academy for his Technicolor work on The Garden of Allah (1937), be assigned to The Wizard of Oz. Rosson promised a gilded, saturated Technicolor look that had never been seen before. He wanted a brilliant spectrum with as much room for shadows and depth of field as possible, and achieving the picture’s complicated look was a daily struggle for the veteran cameraman. Under intensely hot carbon-arc lamps — so many were required that some were borrowed from other studios — Rosson shot test strips before each scene. Each evening, he would accompany the footage to the lab, wait for the tests to be printed, and then, based on those results, order the printing of the daily main footage.

Rosson’s cinematography in The Wizard of Oz is a benchmark for Technicolor’s three-strip process, and Warner Home Video‘s lavish new DVD presents a luminous look at his vivid accomplishment. Warners has used the new “Ultra Resolution” digital process to further clean the individual three-strip negatives, creating images that transcend those in the studio’s excellent 1999 DVD. The individual colors stand out everywhere, and there is never a trace of chroma noise. The image is brighter and sharper than ever before on this high-bit-rate transfer. The restored audio mix in 5.1 creates a gentle stereo effect that uses only the film’s original sound elements and is generally pleasing. The original monaural track is clean and also available.

As was the case with the 1999 DVD, most of the supplements on this edition have been lifted from Warners’ benchmark 1993 laserdisc, The Ultimate Oz. Holdovers from the previous DVD include the 1990 documentary “The Making of a Movie Classic,” theatrical trailers, outtakes, composer Harold Arlen’s home movies from the set, audio programs, production stills, newsreel clips and special-effects test footage. New supplements on this DVD include a documentary about Baum; the 1910, 1925 and 1933 film versions of The Wizard of Oz; and 1914’s The Magic Cloak of Oz and His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz.

Also new to the Oz package is an audio commentary by film historian John Fricke that cleverly incorporates clips of the performers discussing specific scenes. There are also three 30-minute documentary featurettes, Turner Classic Movies’ “Memories of Oz” and the newly produced “The Art of Imagination” and “The Legacy of Oz.” The latter two feature an impressive array of talent from the original production, as well as Oz fans such as Sydney Pollack, Peter Jackson, and ASC members John C. Hora and Allen Daviau.

The real stars of this new DVD are on hand in an informative, 12-minute segment devoted to the film’s digital restoration. The handsome slipcover also includes two portfolios with reproductions of original stills, advertising slicks and other printed ephemera.

This dazzling presentation of The Wizard of Oz and the extensive supplements included make this one of the most impressive collector’s editions in the short history of the DVD medium. A sentimental favorite, a milestone in the history of American cinema and a cultural phenomenon, the picture has a message (“There’s no place like home!”) that resonates with most viewers — save for interviewee John Waters. “Why would Dorothy want to go back to Kansas on this dreary black-and-white farm with an aunt who dressed badly and seemed mean, when she could live with magic shoes, winged monkeys and gay lions?” Waters wonders. In spite of his amusing point, this exceptional DVD should be part of all home collections.

— Kenneth Sweeney